Love-induced Fear
by Phobbers
Summary: Tarturus has left its mark on both Annabeth and Percy, but one day the nightmares get a bit too much. Can they still make it work?


**AN: I'm getting back into the writing mood, so be kind with any mistakes you might spot!** **Enjoy.**

"I'm sorry, Percy… I'm-I'm so sorry."

He sat holding his wise girl like this most nights, forming a physical anchor for her while her usually well organised mind was in utter turmoil. On the scarce nights she slept through, horror contorting her face, he took comfort in knowing she was safely in his arms and not going anywhere. He no longer woke up in fits from his nightmares… he would thrash and turn suddenly, but they had both become used to each other doing this in their sleep and easily melded their body to match their partners. When he finally woke up from his nightmares, it would be in rapid breaths, eyes darting about the room to assure himself of his surroundings and the location of Annabeth. He hoped this wouldn't last much longer… He couldn't bare seeing her eyes like hailstorms, instead of their previous calm state.

He let out a deep sigh, playing with her loose curls absently with one hand, while holding her trembling form with the other. Unfortunately, this didn't calm her as it once would of. He had been noticing this recently, he hoped that she would tell him what was wrong, but she never did. Her gaze would become unseeing, staring at a spot on his wall for hours. It unnerved him. It unnerved him to no end. He squeezed her, to let her know he was still there supporting her, but, to his surprise, she flinched violently. He released his hold of her in shock and she bolted. After a moments hesitation, he followed, scared for her life.

He heard her muttering to herself but couldn't make any sense of it. He raced forwards grabbing her hand. She stopped but refused to look at him. That drove her dagger right into his heart.

"Anna-?"

"I'm sorry, Percy. I'm really really sorry. I can't so this anymore. I can't… I just can't."

"What can't you do? I'll help you… please."

"I can't…"

"Why, Annabeth?"

"…"

"Why… Wise Girl, come on, you're scaring me here!"

"… _I can't stand looking at you_."

For a second time that night, Percy dropped his hand from hers. She turned slightly and saw his heartbreak. She couldn't look. She loved him so much. She was desperate to be in his arms again but, Tarturus had corrupted her view of him. She couldn't think clearly anymore. Everything was becoming muddled in her mind. She needed to escape. She needed to leave. Now… but, she knew she told him this, it would destroy them both. It would anyway. But, he deserved better. He deserved someone who could cope with stuff as manic as they had been through, and at this point in time, it wasn't her.

"Wi-"

"No. You're a monster. Your power is unnatural. You _scare_ me so much. Every night, I dream about you going dark and using your power over the water in my body to make me kill everyone I love, while I plead with you for mercy, while I plea to be able to kill myself to end it, but you won't allow me, smiling a feral grin as you force me to stick my knife into you over and over and over again… I just c- I CAN'T DEAL WITH IT ANYMORE… I can't."

She knew she was hurting him. But it was the only way they could both heal. Her mind… It wasn't right. People would notice, and they would blame her for not being strong enough. But Percy would get over it, he adapted well, like the ocean. It was something she always admired about him.

"You don't think I know that I scare you?"

Her hands began to move in a frenzy, longing to type something out to calm her nerves. Before Tarturus, she would have been able to categorise her emotions and decide the best course of action. What she has been doing in the past couple of weeks was not that. She 'umm'-ed and 'arr'-ed now. Her siblings pitied her, her mother hadn't sent any guidance and her best friend/sister was off on a mission, Gods knows-where. No one was helping her. Was she that useless?

"You don't think I have the same fears?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. Percy stood firm about three meters behind her, staring at the floor in anger. He knew these things, he dreamt about these things… and he had dreamt about this happening, well enough to know this wasn't one of his nightmares. He had seen her leave sixty-one times in his dreams, he wasn't about to let the sixty-second time happen in real life. He could hear the tears in his voice, so he lifted his eyes slightly so that the backs of her bare feet were in view, keeping him anchored, like always.

"In my dreams, I either can't use my powers properly and I see you die in my arms, or I become so consumed by them that I am corruptible, and I end up killing you. In both, I am the cause of your death. The thing that makes it more horrifying is how close those scenarios came to being true… If… If that did happen, I wouldn't have let myself escape. I would have killed myself in Tarturus."

He heard her sobs. He didn't want to make her more conflicted. He just wanted her to know how much he truly loved her. He didn't move from his position, and neither did she from his. She begun to dither on the spot, not knowing what to do.

"I… I think I need time apart from you."

"If that is what you need to get that brain of yours in check, Wise Girl, I will wait for you."

She caught her breath and turned her face around to look at him. She could see the tiredness on his face, the pain, the desperation, the confusion, but mostly, the love and need he held for her. Her tears erupted even further.

"I know Tarturus affected both us, I know that we handle it in different ways, I know, okay... My seaweed brain uses you as an anchor to my sanity, you are what kept me alive… and that's why you've been more affected than me isn't it? The mental side of surviving Tarturus must be triple-fold for you, as your godly powers are centred on your mind, and you are created from the thought of a goddess- that also probably doesn't help! And I'm always so dependent on you… It can't be easy."

She let out a teary chuckle so he tried to continue on, but she stopped him with one teary look. He approached her, but didn't touch her, he simply looked into her eyes and seeing that the storm had settled slightly.

"I don't… I don't know if I can fix my mind, Percy… I don't know how to do it. I just don't know… It' like it's been shattered a..and there's no way to repair it. Ever… It's just a giant mess and I hate it. I hate not being able to fix it. I hate not knowing. I'm supposed to know. Why don't I know? Why?"

"It's fine that you don't know. You still have to learn like everyone else… and there isn't really a book to explain surviving Tarturus... That's why we have friends."

"Friends?"

"It may not be tomorrow, or the day after, but talk to your siblings, talk to the Hecate cabin, talk to the Hypnos cabin. Someone has to know something, and we've got quite a good bunch of people here. I could try and talk to Nico, though he's probably going through the works as well… But, if not, I'm sure Chiron will somehow come up with a solution in the strangest way possible… I mean seriously… the dude is centaur that uses a wheelchair to get around? Why not just a ring or something that convinces people he has two legs or gives him two legs… that would have been a much better ending to the Little Mermaid- er"

He had gotten slightly off topic, but the smile that Annabeth gave him, reassured him that he hadn't messed this up. He started to mess his hair up in embarrassment, something that only served to amuse her more. The tears soon dried up and Annabeth felt brave enough to look into Percy's eyes. The determined, sea green colour calmed her, and she let out a deep breath.

"When did you get so wise?"

"No clue. But, you have definitely brought this out in me… I can't lose you, Wise Girl."

"I hope you never will, Seaweed brain."

She took a step forward and crashed her head against his chest, the tears escaping her again. In a moment of pure clarity, she knew that neither of them would have let this happen. She cried happily in earnest, especially as the tan arms encompassed her again. How that moment of fear could have cost her greatly… She nearly brought her nightmare to life. She felt the arms tighten and water fall onto her head. Percy had joined her in her tears.

"We'll get through this, won't we?"

"Of course. After all, you still need to drag me to college… Gods knows I won't get in there on my own!"

She started laughing again, Percy soon joining in. The slow rumbling of his chest, cheering her up immensely. Percy raised his head out of her hair and tentatively asked where she wanted to spend the rest of her night. A tight squeeze of the ribs was all he got in response. He lifted his Wise girl up against his chest, her clinging on automatically and he walked them back into his cabin. After settling down, he couldn't help but think that that might have actually helped them get through one of the many tortures Tarturus had played on their minds and for the first time since that quest, the two slept uninterrupted.

Up on the hill, two figures had stood watch over the teens. They relaxed once the two had gone back into the Poseidon cabin, the strongest couple holding together like they had done since they met.

"That was a close one."

"Hmmph! Percy and Annabeth split up, like that would happen. Children are so dramatic these days!"

"My, using their proper names, Mr D? One might think you liked them."

"It's hard not to after all they've done for us."

"I suppose they will be Perry and Alice again tomorrow?"

"Don't you doubt it, can't have these little monsters thinking I actually like them."

"Very Well, Mr D. Goodnight."

He got a grunt in reply but, as Chiron trotted back to his quarters, he let out a chuckle at Mr D's last mutter.

"Them break up? Aphrodite wouldn't survive it! Ha!"


End file.
